


Say Something

by All_Might_Ships_EraserMic



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Appendicitis, Fluff, Gen, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27203467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_Might_Ships_EraserMic/pseuds/All_Might_Ships_EraserMic
Summary: Scanlan’s stomach hurts, but he doesn’t want to wake anyone up over it.But the pain keeps getting worse.*I have not watched all episodes, apologies for any incorrect characterizations or inconsistencies, I just want to try dipping into this fandom for a change. Thanks!*
Relationships: Scanlan Shorthalt & Vox Machina
Kudos: 27





	1. chapter 1

Scanlan sucked in a breath through his teeth, hunching over as a dull pain twisted his insides. The gnome bard was currently on watch duty for the rest of Vox Machina; it was now two hours past the end of his shift and very late at night- early in the morning? Either way, Scanlan, suffering from what he assumed to be a bad case of gas, had no hopes of sleeping and figured that he should just let his friends get more rest than usual.

The pain momentarily faded, allowing Scanlan to stand again and resume his pacing near the fire. The right side of his abdomen pulsed with pain every time he took a step; maybe the gas was finally shifting. Scanlan would be relieved if it was- he’d been struggling to pass anything for the last couple of days, reflected by the slight shiver and bloated belly he’d developed. He was regretting the sketchy chicken dish he’d eaten at the last tavern anyway. He hadn’t eaten much in the two, nearly three days since then either.

At the thought of that chicken, Scanlan’s stomach protested, filling the back of his mouth with burning bile. Scanlan gagged, but managed to keep everything down. Unfortunately the sudden movement was too much for his sore middle. A spike of hot pain burst through Scanlan’s middle, and for a moment the gnome was sure he’d been impaled. 

Okay, maybe he should wake up Keyleth. Even if she couldn’t do much besides a healing spell, it couldn’t hurt to ask. Still half hunched, with acid burning the back of his throat, Scanlan shuffled up beside her sleeping roll. “Keyleth I don’t-

That was as far as Scanlan got before vomit poured out of mouth. Thankfully it hit the ground in front of Keyleth instead of pouring over her face, but the noise still shocked her awake. 

“What the hell- Scanlan?”

“Don’t feel so good.” 

Once a moment had passed, Keyleth’s shock faded somewhat and her healer instincts took over. The druid stepped around the puddle of sick and slipped a hand over her friend’s forehead. Far too warm to be normal. Keyleth listened to Scanlan mumble an explanation of how he was feeling, and when the gnome’s hand gestured towards the lower right side of his belly, her face paled. 

“Scanlan, focus on me for a moment. I need to know something.”

Scanlan swayed a little, but managed to somewhat direct his gaze at Keyleth’s face. Good enough. 

“Do you have an appendix?”

Blinking, Scanlan shook his head. Then he nodded, but changed halfway through to a limp shrug. Did he not know what it was? Or he was too feverish to think straight. “It’s a tiny organ in your gut- uh, maybe you’ve felt sick just like this before?”

This line of questioning ended with a more decisive head shake, and Keyleth bit her lip. If he had gotten sick like this before than this could just be a bad flu, but now she had to consider that it was appendicitis. Lifting up the edge of his shirt revealed no surgical scar, only a slightly swollen, pink belly, confirming Keyleth’s theory as much as it could be with no more advanced medical care. 

So, Scanlan had been developing this for at least a few days, and of course he didn’t get bad until they were out in the middle of nowhere, with an illness that wouldn’t go away from only healing spells and potions. Keyleth could probably use them to keep Scanlan alive until they could reach a healer who could actually do surgery, but the gnome was in for a miserable ride. 

This was going to suck.


	2. Chapter 2

Keyleth was right, it did suck. Hard. The next few days consisted of her sitting hunched over Scanlan’s delirious, pain-wracked frame in the back of the wagon. The others helped as much as they could by keeping the wagon moving as fast as possible and bring over supplies as needed, but Keyleth did most of the hands on work. 

Her efforts were not in vain, however; Scanlan managed to hang on until the gang’s wagon sped into a tiny backwater town. Keyleth was pretty sure that it wasn’t even big enough to be on any maps, but she didn’t care- it had a surgeon. 

The surgeon was a light blue dragonborn, and her face paled when she saw Scanlan’s state. Keyleth was sure she would never forget how small her friend looked, limp in the surgeon’s arms. 

And then they were gone, disappeared into the healer’s home, and there was nothing more to do but wait. 

Percy eventually forced Keyleth to take a blanket, and Grog reassured her that he would wake her when they had news of Scanlan’s condition. Despite her worry, exhaustion finally won the war over Keyleth’s body and she slept soundly for the first time in what felt like centuries. 

Sometime later, Vex came and gently shook Keyleth awake. “He’s alright, just resting. Do you want to go see him?”

Keyleth nodded eagerly, relief flooding her body. 

Scanlan would be okay.


End file.
